


Belt

by Abiggaynerd



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, NOT MAX/VID, Past Child Abuse, dadvid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 03:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15524748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abiggaynerd/pseuds/Abiggaynerd
Summary: Max got detention. David wants to talk about it.





	Belt

**Author's Note:**

> its been so long since I last posted something on a03 haha..... But i had this idea for this fic and i couldn’t get it out of my head so here it is. Enjoy

David was a little unhappy. Why, he might ever go so far as to say he was downright peeved! 

No, that was too far.

He had gotten a phone call about Max from his new school, saying he had gotten detention! 

Detention!

That was-!

That was not surprising, actually.

Still! As Max’s brand new adoptive father- a thought that still made him giddy- he was going to have to talk to Max about this and get to the root of the matter!

As he walked to his car after work, Max called.

“Hey, David. I’m home. Sorry I’m late.”

“Max, I just got a phone call that said you got detention!”

“Yeah.”

“Well I’m not happy about it, and we’re going to have a talk about this when I get home! Be safe, I love you, and I’ll be home in fifteen minutes!”

—

“We’re going to talk about it when I get home.”

Max couldn’t believe he had been such a fucking idiot, lulled into a false sense of security. He had failed to separate David the camp counselor- who was probably not legally allowed to hurt him- from David the guardian, who was his guardian now. Max was a fucking dumbass. He should’ve expected this. He should’ve. 

Max clenched his teeth. He could feel a headache coming on.

He should- he should probably go get a belt. He stared at his hands, and realized they were shaking. He tried to stop- he wasn’t a fucking pussy, he could take whatever David would throw at him- it was DAVID, for crying out loud! He couldn’t possibly hit TOO hard...

Max continued to shake. 

Max rummaged through a drawer in David’s closet, grabbing the first belt he found. He scurried back to his room, tossing the belt onto his bed, and sat down next to it. 

He swallowed thickly, fidgeting nervously. He tried not to look at the belt, but his eyes were drawn to it. It wasn’t as thick, or as hard as the belt his father used to use on him. He hoped David didn’t think he was trying to get off easy. 

Max felt sick. 

He clutched the comforter under his fingers as he heard David pull into the driveway.

“Max?”

Max opened his mouth, trying to speak, but the words died in his mouth. His throat was dry. 

David opened his door. “Knock knock.” He smiled gently down at Max, and came in. 

Oh fuck no, Max couldn’t handle this shit. He didn’t want David to be nice about it. He just wanted David to do it all in silence and leave Max alone. 

What did he expect, though?

Max stood up from his seat on the bed with less enthusiasm than a prisoner about to be executed. 

“Now, Max, I understand that school might be a little rough for you, what with this big change in your life and all, but that doesn’t mean you can act up in class!”

Blah, blah, blah. Max zoned out of the lecture. Why was David dragging this out? There wasn’t any point to it. He hated this.

Max blinked back tears. Oh, fuck no- he wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t a baby, and he wasn’t going to cry before David even hit him. He scowled. 

“Max- Max, you’re shaking. Is something wrong? Are you cold?”

Max grabbed the belt and thrust it at David. “Here.”

David stared at the belt, confused, before taking it. “Why do you have my belt?”

“Why do you think?” Max snapped.

David stared at the belt, then at Max. He took a deep breath.

“Max.” 

Max stared at the floor. 

“Max, what’s this for?” 

“It’s for-” Max swallowed, and waved his hands around. “You know.” 

“Max, please.” David sounded so much more serious. Max didn’t know what David was getting out of this- or, for that matter, what HE was supposed to be getting out of this. He just wanted this over with. He wanted to curl up in bed and forget about it. 

“For me.” 

“For you?”

“For- for my punishment.” Max shrunk into himself. Saying it out loud made him feel much worse- they BOTH knew what it was for, there was no reason for this. 

“Punishment?” David sounded weird.

“For my- for my spanking.” The words felt like rocks forcing their way up his throat. Max hoped they were done with this weird routine, because he felt like vomiting. 

“Oh, Max...” 

David looked sad. He reached out for Max, but stopped when he flinched- even though Max had tried to hide it. David pulled his hands back, and knelt on the floor.

“I’m not going to do that.”

Max blinked.

“What?”

“I am not going to hurt you.”

Max opened and closed his mouth. He shook his head wildly, a sinking feeling in his chest for some reason. “You can! You can, I can take it!” He didn’t understand the feeling in his chest, and he was inwardly cursing himself for not just taking the get out of jail free card, but he couldn’t stop. “I won’t struggle, or be loud, you can! I’m not a fucking baby!” 

David didn’t say anything. He just looked sad. 

Max felt furious. He wanted to kick something. He screamed. 

“I hate you I hate you I hate you!” Max’s panic welled up, meshing with the anger into a wild soupy mess in his stomach. “Fuck you! Fuck you to hell! I hate you! I wish I was dead!” 

David took a deep breath. “Max, I know you might not fully understand this, but I am never, ever going to hurt you. Ever.” 

Max burst into tears, loud and wet and messy. He just wanted it over with. He wanted to finish and go to bed. “Fuck you, David! I hope you die!” 

“Provoking me isn’t going to make me hurt you, Max.”

“Just do it,” sobbed Max. “Just do it and go away.”

“I’m sorry, Max-“

“FUCK YOU!” Max screamed through his tears. “I HATE YOU! YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT EVENTUALLY SO JUST DO IT NOW!”

“Max, I said never, and I meant never. I’m never going to hurt you.”

“I HATE THIS!” Max sobbed. “I HATE YOU!” 

“I know, Max.”

Max cried and screamed until he couldn’t anymore. He lay on his bed, limp.

He had fucked up. He still didn’t know what was going on but he had fucked up. He sniffed weakly.

“How you feeling, Max?”

“I don’t- I don’t understand...”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like it. I don’t like it.”

“I know, Max.”

A silence fell across the room, save for Max’s sniffles and hiccups. 

“m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

Max glanced nervously at David. David smiled at him, but the smile didn’t reach the eyes.

“Would you like me to leave you alone now?”

Surprising himself, Max shook his head. David smiled a little wider at that. 

“Okay, Max.”

—

They had sat there in silence until Max fell asleep. The poor thing must’ve been exhausted after all that crying. David quietly left, and went to make dinner.

He began to boil water for macaroni and cheese, not having the energy to make anything more complicated. 

He had known Max’s parents had neglected him, but he hadn’t been aware of any physical abuse- what had set Max off, he wondered? He finished making the pasta and brought a bowl to Max’s room. 

“Max, I got you some mac and cheese,” David said. Max blinked at him blearily.

“I still get dinner?” Max asked, and for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, David’s heart broke.

“Of course you do! You’re a growing boy, you need all three meals a day!”

Max took the bowl without comment, and began eating. It was gone quickly, and he set the bowl on his nightstand. 

“Why didn’t you hit me?” Max asked, monotone. What was one even supposed to say to that?

“Because I-“ David cut himself off before he said ‘Because I’m not a terrible person.’ “Because no one should ever hit you, Max.”

Max didn’t look at David. “But how will I learn otherwise?” He said, voice small. “Sometimes you just have to hit kids. Like you did with Nerf.”

“No child deserves to be hit. Nerf didn’t deserve to be hit, and you don’t deserve to be hit either, Max.”

Max was silent for a while. “I still don’t understand.” 

Max was the brightest child he knew, intelligence well beyond his years, but still couldn’t grasp the idea that an adult wouldn’t abuse him. David felt like crying.

“I’m sorry, Max.”

Another long pause.

“Max, why did you think I was going to hit you?”

“You said we were going to talk when you got home. My dad- if he found out I was doing something bad or whatever that’s what he’d say.” Max’s lower lip wobbled. David longed to hug him.

“When I said talk, Max, I meant talk. I’m sorry I upset you, I’ll use different phrasing next time. I always want you to feel safe here.”

“I’m sorry I got detention. Are you still mad?”

“I was never mad, Max. I just want you to have the best life here you can.”

Max was silent. Max stared at David’s chest. He scrubbed his cheeks angrily, before he reached forward and hugged David tightly. 

David hugged him back. 

“If you tell anyone about this I’ll rip out your kidneys,” Max said, face muffled. He didn’t move. 

“I know, Max.” David smiled. 

“I’m serious.”

“I know, Max.”

“...David?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

David smiled, and ruffled Max’s hair. “I love you, Max.”

“...I love you too.”


End file.
